I have blogged a few times about the use of language and how it affects and shapes society. No where is this more important than the use of gendered pronouns. Now, I am all for non-gender pronouns but society does not seem to be embracing the use of zie and hir. I really hate it when writers try to avoid the use of gendered pronouns by using plural forms. These uses are not grammatically correct and leave the reader (or listener) confused as far as I am concerned.
The default, not surprisingly, is usally to use the male form. Most things you read (particularly non-fiction) where gender is not important to the material the male pronoun is generally used. Some writers try and say he/she or s/he or him/her etc but most do not. This has important consequences. The constant use of the male pronoun marginalizes women and renders them invisible. I can only imagine what medical text books are like. It is not surprising that the use of male pronouns wound render women and their different medical needs and realities invisible. Most medications are not routinely tested on women who have very different chemical and hormonal makeups. In the same way that children are not ‘little adults’ women are not men.
I am currently reading an amazing book: “In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction” by Dr. Gabor Mate. He is a doctor in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver which has one of the highest rates of drug addiction, HIV and Hepatitis C infection in Canada. The stories are compelling and sad and Dr. Mate provides a very interesting and instructive view of addiction – including his own. What is unique about his writing is his use of pronouns. The first part of the book is specific stories of patients he has treated and he uses appropriate gendered pronouns. In the parts of the book that are instructive, in which he explains the pysiology of addiction, he alternates male and female pronouns. I was completely struck by this feature of his writing. At first I wondered why it seemed that he was only using the female pronoun when in fact men are also drug addicts. Everytime I saw a female pronoun in these pages it jumped out at me. So then I went out of my way to notice if he used male pronouns. It seems that he uses both equally.
I think it is sad that we are so used to male pronouns that the use of the female, in equal parts, is so noticeable that one wonders if the author is using male pronouns at all. It speaks to how pervasive the male gaze is even with women and feminists. My hope is that more authors will choose to use both male and female pronouns equally.
Dispatches from the Swamp 
I’m a big user of the singular ‘they’. It is gender-neutral & *not* grammatically incorrect. It does take the plural form of the verb when used, but the meaning is well-accepted to be singular in context. It’s been accepted by Oxford & has been in general use here for years. It was historically used as a singular as well as a plural pronoun, according to Reid Gilbert, my English Lit prof at Cap.
Here’s a little more info on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
One of the main reasons I use the singular they is because it already exists in the language. Introducing a completely new word is often successful for nouns or verbs, sometimes adverbs & adjectives, as these are basically open classes of words. Pronouns, prepositions & conjunctions are all considered to be a closed class of words; they can’t really be edited without being extremely artificial. They’re more structural & functional, rather than descriptive, so less flexible.
I consistently use s(he) as a pronoun. Not grammatically correct, perhaps, but I cover most of the bases.
I can’t stand the use of ‘they.’ To me it is plural.
Some writers of astrology do that “she” and “he” switch. I think it’s smart.
Gabor Mate is a wonderfully interesting guy. I had the pleasure of hearing him present at a breastfeeding education day at Douglas College several years ago. He has very interesting ideas about parenting & mothering & the formative nature of early years. He co-authored with Dr. Gordon Neufeld an excellent book on parenting (Hold on to Your Kids) – and he spoke about how the lack of attachment between parents & kids can lead the kids into very destructive behaviour patterns, incl. addiction & despair. His When the Body Says No is also powerful because he quite clearly links emotional health with physical health….
When I was a grad student in the Philosophy Department of SFU, I particularly noticed their efforts to do this routinely. In lecture, many of their professors were SCRUPULOUS about strictly alternating male and female pronouns, and also male and female characters in their examples. (“So, suppose Barbara decided to…”)
Like you, noticed with some dismay the shock I felt about being treated even-handedly. I was also surprised at how moved I always was at being recognized in this way by my teachers–and also the gratitude at being acknowledged by individuals “in authority.” To me, it really shone a light on how diminished I must have been feeling the other 99 and 44/100 percent of the time.